Section of Psychology, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Scand J Psychol. 2009 Dec;50(6):543-52. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9450.2009.00784.x.
Snakes and faces are unique stimuli because they are deeply grounded in evolutionarily shaped behavior systems. Snakes are the prototypical stimulus in a predatory defense system promoting escape from predators, which prepares primates for efficient processing, attentional priority, and rapid fear acquisition to snakes and other stimuli related to predation. The social submissiveness system plays a similar role on the social arena by promoting yielding to dominant individuals without jeopardizing the protection of the group. Supporting these theoretical propositions, empirical data from a research program spanning four decades demonstrate enhanced fear conditioning to snakes and threatening faces compared to neutral stimuli, as well as fast nonconscious processing of, and prioritized attention to, snakes and threatening faces. Human brain-imaging data show that these effects are mediated by an extensive fear-network centering on the amygdala.
蛇和脸是独特的刺激物，因为它们深深地植根于进化形成的行为系统中。蛇是捕食防御系统中的典型刺激物，促进了从捕食者那里逃脱，这使灵长类动物能够有效地处理、优先注意和快速获得对蛇和其他与捕食有关的刺激物的恐惧。社会顺从系统在社会舞台上发挥着类似的作用，它促进了向占优势的个体屈服，而不会危及群体的保护。这些理论观点得到了跨越四个十年的研究计划的实证数据的支持，该研究表明，与中性刺激相比，对蛇和威胁面孔的恐惧条件反射增强，以及对蛇和威胁面孔的快速非意识处理和优先注意。人类大脑成像数据表明，这些影响是由以杏仁核为中心的广泛的恐惧网络介导的。
